Wallboard lift



3,049,243 WALLBOARD LIFT Horace L. Buice, Rte. 1, Signal Mountain, Tenn.Filed Oct. 26, 1959, Ser. No. 848,707 2 Claims. (Cl. 214-1) Thisinvention relates to a wallboard lift and more particularly to such alift supporting a tiltable platform.

In the construction of houses and other buildings, it has heretoforebeen a difficult task for a builder to lift and hold a plasterboard orWallboard while it is being nailed to the ceiling joist or rafters. Thisis especially true in the case of sloping ceilings, for the constructionof which no wallboard lift known to me has heretofore been devised. Asheet of plasterboard /z inch thick, 4 feet wide and 12 feet long weighsalmost 100 pounds. In the past, such plasterboards have been supportedagainst ceiling joists or rafters by holding them manually, requiringthe services of at least two workmen to hold the board in place and athird to nail it to the ceiling joists or rafters. Wallboard liftsheretofore constructed have been designed for use only with horizontalceilings, so that hand labor has been necessary to install wallboard onsloping ceilings. They have also generally been complicated andexpensive in construction.

One object of this invention is to provide a wallboard lift by means ofwhich a sheet of wallboard can be raised and held in position fornailing it to a ceiling having any slope.

Another object is to provide such a lift in which a tiltable wallboardsupporting platform is pivotally mounted in a bearing, the friction ofwhich against the platform is adjustable.

A further object is to provide such a lift having provision for a quickapproximate adjustment of the platform height. 7

Still another object is to provide a wallboard lift with a platformhaving a central frame and at least one removable extension frame.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description, taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

'FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a wallboard lift madein accordance with my invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view, partly in section showingdetails of the manner of connection of a jack piston to a bearing platefor a platform used in my invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail view showing a jack, jack base and meansfor securing the jack base to a vertical standard used in my invention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a bearing and of a plateformused in my invention; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view, partly broken away, showing a means forattaching an extension frame to the central frame of a platform.

Referring now to the drawings, it will be seen that a wallboard liftmade in accordance with my invention comprises a base 1, which maypreferably have crossed legs, the outer ends of the legs being supportedon casters 2 having locking levers 3 thereon to actuate locks forpreventing rotation of the casters, as when loading a piece ofplasterboard on the lift. To the upper surface of the base 1 is attacheda metal plate 4, to which are secured, as by welding, a plurality ofnuts or threaded sockets 5, four of these sockets being illustrated inthe drawing. A vertical standard, generally indicated at 6, preferablycomprises a plurality of relatively large pipes 7 having threaded lowerends engaging in the nuts or threaded sockets 5. The upper ends of thepipes 7 are threaded into nuts or sockets 8, extending through ahorizontal 3,049,243 Patented Aug. 14, 1952 fie plate 9, to which theyare attached. The pipes 7, extending from the nuts or sockets 5 to thenuts or sockets 8 in the plate 9, constitute the lower section of thevertical standard. The upper section of the standard comprises aplurality, equal in number to the pipes 7, of smaller pipes 10, whichtelescope within the larger pipes 7. The upper ends of the pipes 10 arethreaded to engage nuts or threaded sockets 11 which are attached, as bywelding, to a bearing plate 12. The pipes 10, the sockets 11 and thebearing plate 12 constitute the upper section of the standard.

A jack 13, having a socket 14 for a jack lever or handle 35, is attachedto a jack base 15. The base 15 is positioned within the lower sectionpipes 7 and to its corners are attached a plurality, equal in number tothe pipes 7, of sleeves 16 encircling those pipes. Each of the sleeves16 is provided with a set screw 17, by means of which the sleeve can besecurely attached in any position to its respective pipe 7. The cylinder18 of the jack 13 extends upwardly through an opening in the plate 9which is sulficiently large to allow the cylinder to move up and downrelative to the plate. A piston 19, extending from the cylinder 18 ofthe jack, has a reduced upper end 19A which is adapted to pass throughan opening 12A in the center of the bearing plate 12, as shown in FIG.2. Thus, the piston 19 abuts against the bearing plate 12, but is notattached thereto, except by the reduced end 19A fitting within theopening 12A.

To opposite sides of the bearing plate 12 are attached a pair ofupstanding lugs 20. Through aligned openings in the lugs 20 passes abolt 21 having a nut 22 screwed onto its threaded end. To the innerfaces of the lugs 20 are attached wooden blocks 23, as by means of bolts24 passing through the lugs 20 and the blocks 23, the blocks beingcountersunk on their inner sides to receive the bolts without the latterprojecting inwardly from the inner surfaces of the blocks.

To the bearing comprising lugs 20, bolt 21, nut 22 and bearing blocks 23is pivotally attached an open frame work platform, generally indicatedat 25. This platform comprising a central longitudinal member 26, suchas a 2" x 4" board, to which are attached a plurality of transversemembers 27. The members may, if desired, be reinforced With sheet metal,such as aluminum, in which case they may be smaller, for example, 2" x2" boards. An open framework is thus provided which facilitates Work onthe ceiling by enabling the workman to nail the wallboard anywhereexcept at the precise points where the longitudinal member 26 or thecross members 27 are in contact with the wallboard. The platform 25 canbe tightened on the bolt 21, the bearing plates 23 serving as a frictionbrake on the pivotal movement of the platform. By tightening orloosening the nut 22 on the bolt, the amount of friction between thebearing blocks and the platform and, thus, the relative freedom ofpivoting movement of the platform can be readily adjusted.

As shown more clearly in FIG. 5, the length of the platform can bereadily adjusted by attaching to or detaching from the central framemember 26 at least one removable extension frame, generally indicated at28. The longitudinal member 26 of the central frame is provided at eachof its ends with a channel-shaped sheet metal sleeve 29 attached to thesides of and extending across the bottom of the member. The lowerportion of the end of the member is cut away to leave a tongue 30 and anopening 31. The opening 31 and the sleeve 29 form a well for receivingsnugly a tongue 32 of a longitudinal member 33 of the extension frame28, which also preferably has only one transverse member 34. Screws orbolts, not shoum, may be passed through the sleeve 29 and into orthrough the tongue 32 to hold the extension frame 28 firmly in place, ifdesired.

As shown more clearly in FIG. 3, a longitudinal jack lever or handle 35,preferably made of lightweight material, such as aluminum, is fittedwithin the jack handle socket 14. Like an automobile jack, when thehandle 35 is reciprocated vertically, the jack 13 pumps fluid into thecylinder 18 under the piston 19 to elevate the piston, and therebyelevates the platform 12, the bearing lugs 20 and thus, through the bolt21, the framework platform 25. When it is desired to lower theplat-form, which is accomplished by gravity, a valve 36 on the jack isopened a suificient amount to permit escape of hydraulic fluid frombeneath the piston 19.

As a modification, a rod, not shown, may be inserted through a pipe 37welded or otherwise attached to the lower surface of the jack base 15.With one man on each end of the rod, the set screws 17 being released,the jack base 15, carrying with it the jack cylinder 18, the piston 19and the platform 25, may be raised quickly to a higher elevation, wherethe jack base 15 is secured to the pipes 7 of the lower section of thestandard by tightening the set screws 17. Thereupon, further lifting ofthe platform may be accomplished by operating the jack 13.

-In use of this device by one man, the nut 22 on the bolt 21 is adjustedto give the desired amount of friction between the bearing plates 23 andthe platform 25. The locking levers 3 on the casters 2 are actuated tolock the caster wheels against rotation and the jack base 15 is put intoits lowest position, in which it is not necessary that the set screws 17be tightened. The piston 19 and thus the bearing plate 12 and theplatform 25 are lowered to their lowest positions by opening the valve36. The platform is tilted slightly, so that one man can readily slideonto it a sheet of wallboard or plasterboard. The outer, upper, edges ofthe platform members 26, 27, 33 and 34 are rounded slightly to avoiddamage to the wallboard as it is loaded onto the platform. The sheet iapproximately centered on the platform and, if a long sheet is being putin place, one or both of the platform extensions 28 are first attachedto the central portion of the platform. The

lengths of the platform members are so chosen that the wallboard, whenproperly centered on the platform, is supported to within approximately6 inches of each side.

With the wallboard in place on the platform, the long handle 35 is theninserted in the jack handle socket 14. The long handle extends out tothe side appreciably to enable one man to raise the platform and thewallboard on it from approximately waist height. As the platform and thewallboard on it are raised into contact with celling joists or rafters,one or the other ends of the wallboard on the platform engages thejoists or rafters first. Thereafter, as the platform and wallboard areraised further, the platform and wallboard are pivoted about the bolt 21as an axle until the platform and wallboard are parallel to the lowersurfaces of the ceiling joists or rafters. When the wall board is a veryshort distance, about /2" to 1", away from its final position, since thepiston 19 and the pipes of the upper section of the standard have asmall amount of freedom of lateral motion, the wallboard is movedslightly with one hand to place it in exactly the correct position. Withthe other hand, the lift is then moved further upward by operating thelever 35 until the wallboard is held firmly in place against the ceilingjoists or rafters. The lift is left in that position while a wallboardis nailed in place.

After loading the wallboard on the platform, it may be necessary tounlock the casters 2, so that the entire lift can be rolled to aposition in which the wallboard is to be installed, when the casters areagain locked.

With the modification heretofore described, using a rod inserted throughthe pipe 37 and two men lifting the assembly, the jack base then beingclamped securely in position by tightening the set screws 17,considerable time is saved. Not only is time saved but, with such amodification, the lift can be used with a much higher ceiling, forexample, a 12-foot ceiling, and yet it is loaded on the same level asloading is performed for use of the wallboard on a low ceiling. Withextremely high ceilings, it may be desirable to use long pipes 7 and 10.Alternatively, to reach high places, it may be desirable to provideadditional pipes 38 telescoping within the lower pipes 7 and having theupper pipes 10 telescoping within them. In that case, the upper pipes 10would have longitudinal slots 39 extending therethrough along thegreater parts of their lengths, with pins 40 passing through the slots39 and fixed to the pipes 38, the outer ends of the pins 40 being flushwith the outer peripheries of the pipes 38.

One of the advantages of this invention is that, with use of thesmaller, basic supports only, this lift may be used to lift smallersheets of wallboard in closets, bathrooms and other small rooms. Eventhough the transverse members 27 on the lift preferably have a totallength of about 36", the lift can nevertheless be taken through aninside house door having only about 30 of clearance by angling the liftthrough the door opening in the same manner as is used to move a tablehaving fixed legs.

The platform extensions 28 can be added or removed within two minutes,for use in lifting wallboards of diiferent sizes. They can readily bemade to accommodate any ength of wallboard in commercial use, either nowor later.

One advantage of this invention is that, the lift being supported onlyin its center, a workman can walk under it to nail the wallboard all theway across. Since one man can load a wallboard onto the lift, raise thelift to the proper position to hold the wallboard in place and then nailthe wallboard onto the ceiling joists or rafters, considerable saving inthe cost of labor is effected. There is also a considerable saving intime in attaching wallboards to ceilings and in fatigue resulting fromholding heavy wallboards against ceilings while they are nailed inplace. Moreover, by use of this wallboard lift, the wallboards are heldmore accurately in position while they are being nailed.

As described above, the wallboard lift automatically conforms thewallboard to the slope of the ceiling. The first end of the wallboardwhich touches the ceiling causes the platform to tilt until the entiresurface of the wall-board parallels the ceiling joists or rafters.

This wallboard lift has a further important advantage in that it can bedisassembled and carried in the trunk of an automobile, so that use ofan expensive truck is not necessary.

The size of the platform 25 is adjustable by use of the detachableextensions 28, thus being small enough for use in bathrooms, closets andother small rooms. It is also large enough to support rigidly any lengthof wallboard commercially available, by adding the extensions 28.

-A wallboard lift made in accordance with this invention is simple andinexpensive in construction and convenient in use, since the openframework platform permits a man to nail a wallboard onto the ceilingjoists or rafters while the lift holds the wallboard in place. Themechanism of the platform perm-its a man to walk under it while he isworking. This device, being easy to disassemble, is also, of course,easy to assemble after shipment.

-It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changesmay be made in the invention, without departing from the spirit andscope thereof, and therefore the invention is not limited by that whichis shown in the drawings and described in the specification, but only asindicated in the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. A wallboard lift comprising a base, several spaced first pipesattached to and extending vertically from the base, a jack base havingsleeves encircling said pipes and set screws for releasably clampingsaid sleeves onto said pipes, a hydraulic jack and a jack cylinderattached 5 to said jack base, an equal number of second pipes smallerthan and telescoped within said first pipes and attached to a bearingplate, a piston within said cylinder having its free end in contact withthe bearing plate, a bearing attached to the bearing plate and aplatform journaled in said bearing.

-2. The invention according to claim 1 in which means are attached tothe jack base for elevating and lowering the jack base, jack, cylinder,second pipes, bearing and platform.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS YoungApr. 20, 1909 Taylor Aug. 3, 1909 Russell Nov. 9, 1926 Blandford Aug.20, 1929 Walberg Dec. 22, 1931 Baker Dec. 28, 1943 Jones Oct. 13, 1953Burns June 9, 1959

